Plans to build a Grand Valley State University commuter parking lot that in Walker have been pulled from the table.

Grand Valley State University officials informed Walker city officials this morning that the plan to build a 252-space lot behind Walker Fire Station No. 2 on Lake Michigan Drive has been scrapped and that they will look elsewhere to build additional parking spaces for the Rapid bus that runs between the Allendale campus and the Pew campus in downtown Grand Rapids.

Ron Pratt showed a plan he drew and presented to the Walker Planning Commission
last week which was much smaller than GVSU proposed. BY JEFFREY CUNNINGHAM|MLIVE.COM
6-8-13

Residents along Kinney Street, which would have abutted the new commuter parking lot, showed up last week at a public hearing held by the Walker Planning Commission to express their disapproval of the proposed lot.

Calls to GVSU operations director Mark Rambo had not been returned this morning.

City Manager Cathy VanderMeulen said the university was looking at revising the project to reduce the number of parking spaces as several members of the Planning Commission and residents had suggested last week. "My understanding is that they couldn't make the numbers work when they reduced the number of spaces," she said.

VanderMeulen said she hadn't talked with Planning Commissioners this morning but did say having the Planning Commission review projects like the one proposed by GVSU, where the public has the chance to provide input, is vital to the community development process.

"We received information that they have withdrawn the application but did not give any reason, but did say that comments from city staff, planning commission, and the public weighed on their decision," Walker Community Development director Frank Wash said. "The Planning Commission has ordinances and a master plan to follow to 'ground truth' projects like this."

Wash said the Planning Commission and the City Commission may have ultimately given the project the go ahead if the university could have have shown why 252 spaces were needed, what the impact on afternoon traffic at Lake Michigan Drive and Kinney Avenue would have been, and worked through the impact on homes close to the proposed lot.

Wash said perhaps the proposed lot would not have been necessary in the long run.

The Rapid bus system is looking at building a 'bus rapid transit' line that would run between Allendale and downtown Grand Rapids. The study of the viability of the line was expected to begin this month at a cost of $600,000.

The line would differ from the current bus system in that it would only make stops on Lake Michigan Drive. The No. 50 bus currently makes a stop at the commuter lot behind Fire Station No. 2 on Lake Michigan Drive as it goes in both directions. "If a BRT system is built like the Silver Line that is currently being constructed between downtown Grand Rapids and Kentwood, the bus would not leave Lake Michigan Drive so the Rapid would need additional parking on the south side of Lake Michigan Drive so a lot as large as proposed lot may not be needed then," Wash added.